Next PS3 Firmware Update To Remove "Other OS" Feature

PlayStation 3 owners who are currently enjoying a different operating system than the one that shipped with their non-Slim models might want to prepare a few final words. Sony has announced that the next PS3 firmware update v3.21 will disable the console’s “Install Other OS” feature.

Sony's senior director of corporate communications and social media Patrick Seybold posted on the PlayStation Blog that the feature is being removed for security reasons, adding that it will “help ensure that PS3 owners will continue to have access to the broad range of gaming and entertainment content from SCE and its content partners on a more secure system.”

Should you decide to shun the firmware update on principle, here’s a list of features that you will no longer have access to:

Ability to sign in to PlayStation Network and use network features that require signing in to PlayStation Network, such as online features of PS3 games and chat

Playback of PS3 software titles or Blu-ray Disc videos that require PS3 system software version 3.21 or later

Playback of copyright-protected videos that are stored on a media server (when DTCP-IP is enabled under Settings)

Use of new features and improvements that are available on PS3 system software 3.21 or later

I don’t know anyone who uses the “Other OS” option on their fat PS3s, but there have to be a few people out there who use it, and I’m guessing they aren’t too pleased with this news. Anyone here particularly enraged? Or could you care less?